Green flag, ‘Atomic Blonde’: Charlize Theron to start 500

February 12, 2018

FILE - In this July 17, 2017, file photo, actress Charlize Theron waves as she arrives for the world premiere of the movie 'Atomic Blonde' in Berlin, Germany. Academy Award winner Charlize Theron has been named honorary starter for the 60th running of the Daytona 500. The 42-year-old actress will wave the green flag for the season-opening race Sunday in NASCAR's Monster Energy Cup Series. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)

The actress will wave the green flag for the season-opening race Sunday in NASCAR’s Monster Energy Cup Series.

Theron, who won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for best actress in 2003 for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wournos in “Monster,” stars in and produces the upcoming film “Gringo.” The movie will be released nationwide next month.

She also starred in “The Cider House Rules” (1999), “The Italian Job” (2003), “North Country” (2005), and more recently in “Atomic Blonde”, “The Fate of the Furious” and “Mad Max: Fury Road.”

Other pre-race celebrities scheduled for the 2018 Daytona 500: Retired NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr. will serve as grand marshal; country group Rascal Flatts will perform the pre-race concert; and Navy Band Southeast will sing the national anthem.